Vinegar-generator.



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2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- O 0 o O o PATBNTED MAY 5, 1903.

Pi 9 12 I R. DOUGLAS.

VINEGAR GENERATOR.

APPLIUATION rmm MAY 20, 1902.

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Llllll H!!! No. 726,883- 4 PATEN'IBD MAY 5, 1903.. R. DOUGLAS.

VINEGAB. GENERATOR.

APPLICATION IIL'ED MAY 20, 1902.

2 SHEETSSHBHT 2 H0 MODEL.

A law QZd 1n: norms PETERS w. mow-Lina, wunmswn. u. c

UNITED STATES Patented May 5 1903,

ROBERT DOUGLAS, OF RAVENA, NEW YORK.

VlNEGAR-G EN ERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,883, datedMay-5,1903.

Application filed May 20, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT DOUGLAS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ravena, Albany county, New York, have invented certain; newand useful Improvements in Vinegar-Generators and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedvinegar-generator which may also. be used for a generator for otheracids and liquids.

In the drawings,'Figure 1 shows aside elevation of one form ofmy-generator with a portion of its side broken away, showing the fiberbundles and their arrangement; Fig. 2, a plan view of the perforatedtop,-partly broken away to show the ends of the bundles; Fig. 3, a planof the grating prleferablyused in my generator; Fig. 4, a sideelevationof one of the fiber bundles; Fig.5, an edge-view of one .of thesustaining-posts, showingpinspassing through it; Fig. 6, a similarview'of one of the posts, showing the preferable way of attaching thebinder; Fig. 7, a side elevation of one of the fiber bundles inoperativeconstruction, and Fig. 8 a similar view of another fiber bundledifferently arranged and assembled. f

In vinegar-generators and similar devices in common use the generator,cistern, or tun is more or less filled with a looselying substancethrough which the Wash may easily pass and slowly percolate-such asshavings, corncobs, and various other. materials-Aaid and assembled sothat as the wash percolates downward from the topfair is allowed toascend through the said material, f and thus aerate, oxidize, andotherwise act upon the wash as it descends in thin streams and drops.Also fibrous material has been braided in long braids andbeen'suspendedfrom their upper ends and been allowed to hang freely,down which the wash has been allowed to run. The difficulty with allsuch arrangements has so far been that shavings, corncobs, braids, andother free-to-move material used swells and Serial No. 108,182. (Nomodel.)

packs firmly together, and the braids also swell and form an almostimpervious body, so that the wash will run down their outer surfacesonly, and the air cannot pass upward through the fibers, shavings, orcobs, but only through such openings as may by chance exist between themasses, precisely as it would find its way through the intersticesformed in a generator packed with cobble or other reasonably smallstones, the stones being compact masses through which no airoould pass,with this difference, however, that the interstices between the cobs,shavings, and braids would grow less and less as the material becamesoaked and swelled, until in a short time the whole mass was so tightlycompressed by this swelling that operation was practically impossible,and the generator had to be refilled and repacked at considerableexpense and loss of time; With a generator arranged as my generator isshown to be I avoid all these difficulties a'ndam able to produce a fargreater'product in agiven time than has heretofore been done by anygenerator known tome.

A full descriptionbf my generator is as follows: I -I The numeral 1shows the cistern or tun, made of Wood, preferably.

2 shows theforaminous head, allowing of the wash as it-ispoured over thesame passing into the "ciste'rnpin streams well distributed over theends of-the end surfaces of the fiber bundles 4, wherefit begins itspassage through the interstices between each of the fibers of which'itis'c omposed.

3 is a grating whichI use in large generators, (in smallertones it maybe omitted, if desired,). set about. the. middle of the cistern,separating the two sets of fiber bundles, as seen in Fig. 1." As thewash percolates through the above-mentioned interstices of the materialof the fiber bundles 4. it meets the rising currents of air entering theopenings 5v and passing through the lower chamber and .iup through thebundles and is 'aerated,'okidized, and otherwise acted upon.- by the airThese fiber bundles and their arrangement aiid assembiing are theessentialpart of 'rnyinvention, and I proceed to fully describe 'thein.Each of the bundles consists of some fibrous or string -likematerial-such as shredded ratau, excelsior, or other materialsuitablefor the purpose-that can be formed into stringlike condition, and suchfibers or strings are loosely wound, preferably, about posts or supports4: and tied loosely thereto by cords or fibers 8. To the better preventthe fibers or strings from becoming packed together and swelling, so asto close the interstices between each fiber or string composing eachbundle, pins or projections are arranged in connection with the posts 4,as seen at at", the ends of whichpass into the bundles and between thefibers and support them so that the fibers cannot mat together, so thatin actual use each fiber or string will stand separate from the other asmuch as possible and not lay close together in a compact mass, as theywould if formed in braids or packed together, and thus permit the air topass upward through the interstices and the vinegar downward throughthem. In the top of the posts, preferably, are holes through which thebinding-cords are passed, as seen, and

when this string or binder is wrapped about the fiber, loosely bringingthe fibers together about the posts, it also prevents the mass of fibersforming the bundles from sagging and compacting, and as the fibers areloosely held in the bundle the material of them may swell withoutclosing the interstices. It will also be noticed that the ends of thebundles are not cut off so as to make a blunt end, but are left more inthe nature of tufts, so as to present as many ends for the wash tofollow as possible.

In Fig. 4 I show one of the fiber bundles as it is first formed andafterward, as seen in Figs. 4E and 5, two or more of them bound looselyto the posts 4, as above described. This is the preferable way offorming and binding them; but it is evident that other methods may beused without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Another advantage of my invention is: The cisterns or tuns being veryheavy often settle and stand out of plumb or truth, in which cases whenpacked as is commonly done or when braids are hung from their upper endsand allowed .to have free movement at their lower ends the material willsettle to one side, leaving the upper side fallen away from the side ofthe cistern, thus leaving a large open space, down which the vinegar orwash-passes without being broken up into thin streams and drops, andproper aeration is not had.

It will be seen by viewing Fig. 1 that the bundles of fiber do not reachto the bottom of the cistern, but are sustained above the bottom to aheight suificient to form a suitable chamber, into which the wash maysettle and be withdrawn by the cock 6, and openings 5, located above thesurface of the confined wash, allow of the outer atmosphere enteringabove the liquid and passing upward through the bundles of fibers 4: andout at the perforations in the cover 2. When the grate 3 is used, theends of the upper bundles are also sustained slightly above the grating,so that their lower ends shall not be matted by resting on it. The washis fed to the perforated top 2 in any suitable manner and from thencepasses into the cistern or tun.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is- In avinegar-generator a receiving tnbor tank; bundles of fibrous materialhaving interstices between the fibers, said'bundles being supported in apractically upright position; immovable and non-compressible supportsarranged to support the fibrous material of the bundles at intervals,means for introducing the wash and withdrawing it and means for creatinga constant circulation of air through the interstices of the fibrousmaterial substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT DOUGLAS.

Witnesses:

HENRY D. KLINGER, JOHN A. WEIDMAN.

